Narratives

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Reproduced below is the
text of Leon Trotsky's report on the progress of negotiations with Germany
for a preliminary armistice in early December 1917.

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Trotsky's negotiations were
conducted exclusively with German Army officers; consequently his repeated
demands that an armistice be widened to include all armies on all fronts was
rebuffed with the claim that such a discussion was outside the realm of army
officers. Their brief was solely to negotiate an armistice with Russia
and no other country.

Click
here to read a memoir recounting the initial armistice
discussions.
Click here to read the
official German view.
Click here to read the text
of the preliminary armistice signed on 16 December 1917.

Leon Trotsky on Armistice
Negotiations of 5 December 1917

The conference opened in the presence of representatives of Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria.

Field-Marshal von Hindenburg and
Field-Marshal von Hotzendorf charged Prince Leopold of Bavaria with the
negotiations, and he in his turn nominated his Chief of Staff, General Hoffmann. Other delegates received similar authority from their highest Commander in
Chief. The enemy delegation was exclusively military.

Our delegates opened the conference with a declaration of our peace aims, in
view of which an armistice was proposed. The enemy delegates replied that that
was a question to be solved by politicians. They said they were soldiers, having
powers only to negotiate conditions of an armistice, and could add nothing to
the declaration of Foreign Ministers Czernin and von Kühlmann.

Our delegates, taking due note of this evasive declaration, proposed that they
should immediately address all the countries involved in the war, including
Germany and her allies, and all States not represented at the conference, with a
proposal to take part in drawing up an armistice on all fronts.

The enemy delegates again replied evasively that they did not possess such
powers. Our delegation then proposed that they ask their Government for such
authority. This proposal was accepted, but no reply had been communicated to the
Russian delegation up to 2 o'clock, December 5th.

Our representatives submitted a project for an armistice on all fronts,
elaborated by our military experts. The principal points of this project were:
First, an interdiction against sending forces on our fronts to the fronts of our
allies, and, second, the retirement of German detachments from the islands
around Moon Sound.

The enemy delegation submitted a project for an armistice on the front from the
Baltic to the Black Sea. This proposal is now being examined by our military experts. Negotiations will be
continued tomorrow morning.

The enemy delegation declared that our conditions for an armistice were
unacceptable and expressed the opinion that such demands could be addressed only
to a conquered country.